Kids belong in the kitchen

I learned to cook at an early age though it was mostly from necessity. My mom started working full-time and had odd hours so my sister and I had to learn to cook for the family. Our meals mostly involved the meat and potatoes type but even then I tried to make them unique if I could. But it rarely seemed fun. I decided when I had a child that I wanted time in the kitchen to be fun as well as functional. Even before William could walk I bought him his own set of measuring spoons, cups, and wooden utensils. While I made dinner, he would sit in his highchair and play with his kitchen tools.

When he got a little more coordinated he started to help me pour ingredients into a bowl. I found that just a little bit of participation really gave him an investment in what we were eating and he tended to eat more. Fortunately, William has always been a good eater but watching his enthusiasm for eating what he "prepared" has always been cool to watch. One of my favorite memories was a night when William got to choose and help prepare our dinner. He chose boxed mac 'n cheese and hot dogs. He was still pretty small so we went along with it. The only problem was he got a little too possessive and would barely let us eat anything.

But we pressed on. William's favorite meal to prepare is pizza. And I love the Chef Boyardee pizza kits to help with this venture. It allows us to mix the dough and for him to press out his own dough. At first we had to be a little more ready made though.

This is the first time William made pizza. He wasn't even 2 1/2 yet in this pic but he was already a pizza fiend.

He's a little more adept these days and pats out his own crust though, these days, he will only eat cheese pizza but it's more about the process than the product.

Good thing too because things aren't always pretty but do him it's delicious and he's so proud.

And baking, my goodness baking. What kid doesn't like a nice baked good. I rarely have to twist William's arm to get him to help bake something.

On his 2nd birthday he helped bake his birthday cake.

When he was almost 2 1/2 we surprised his Daddy at work on Good Friday with Easter cookies.

Now that he's a little older and more discerning I'm working on teaching him about healthy choices. It's so satisfying to see him at the grocery store smelling and choosing fresh fruit and vegetables. To this mom it seem like we're on the right track.